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| ImageSource: AlJazeera |
As airlines gradually phase out four-engine aircraft, they are being replaced with newer, more fuel-efficient planes such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. What happened to those planes, which carried millions of people each year, will always be a mystery.
Before we get into what occurred to the two Boeing 747-200s of the Kingdom of Bahrain's flag carrier, Gulf Air, a little history of the company is in order.
History
During the late 1940s, a British pilot and an entrepreneur, Freddie Bosworth, initially began an air taxi service to Doha, Qatar, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia from Bahrain. This later was expanded and registered as Gulf Aviation Company, on 24th March 1950.
BOAC, British Airways Cooperation, acquired a 22 percent stake in Gulf Aviation Company in 1951.
Later, by 1973, BOAC's 22 percent stake was acquired by the governments of the Kingdom of State of Qatar, Bahrain, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the Sultanate of Oman, giving each of them a 25 percent stake in Gulf Aviation, which was soon branded as Gulf Air and became the flag carrier of the 4 states.
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| ImageSource: Gulf life | Gulf Life Inflight Magazine |
With the addition of large and narrow-body aircrafts such as the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar and Boeing 737 to the fleet, the airline expanded to numerous destinations across the world.
During the 1980s and 1990s, as air travel increased, Gulf Air built many networks to Frankfurt, Istanbul, and other important cities.
However, when the governments of the Kingdom of State of Qatar, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the Sultanate of Oman began emphasizing their national carriers and withdrew from Gulf Air shareholdings, the airline's losses were significant, and its debts increased.
Despite rising fuel prices, Gulf Air transported a record-breaking 7.5 million passengers in 2004, earning a stunning profit of BD1.5 million.
On May 5, 2007, the Bahraini government claimed complete ownership of the airline.
Gulf Air travels to 55 international destinations and 30 countries worldwide as of March 2021.
Furthermore, the airline presently operates 33 aircraft, ranging from the Airbus A320/A321 to the Boeing 787, and has 22 orders outstanding, three of which are for the Boeing 787-9.
Where are the Boeing 747-200 of Gulf Air in 2021
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| LN-AET, the first Boeing 747 of Gulf Air as shown | ImageSource: planespotters.blogspot.com / JetPhotos.ch collection |
According to Planespotters, Gulf Air had two Boeing 747-200s in its inventory from 1984 until 1987.
LN-AET was the first Boeing 747-200, which was delivered to SAS Scandinavian Airlines on February 22, 1971, and was called Huge/Bjarne Viking. The aircraft was then leased to ScanAir for a year before returning to SAS Scandinavian Airlines in 1983.
This Boeing 747 was leased to Gulf Air as LN-AET on July 27, 1985, and operated for another two years after being delivered to Minerve Airlines as F-GHBM on November 25, 1987, and serving until the merger of Minerve Airlines and AOM to become AOM French Airlines.
The Boeing 747-200 with the registration number N221MP was therefore destroyed on July 1, 1994.
The other Boeing 747-200 with the registration OD-AGI/N203AE, on the other hand, has an intriguing backstory.
This specific Boeing 747 was delivered to MEA - Middle East Airlines as OD-AGI on the 20th of June 1975 and was leased to Saudi Arabian Airlines in the interim till it was delivered to Gulf Air on the 27th of March 1984.
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| OD-AGI of Gulf Air as shown | ImageSource: Kees Harteveld @Flickr.com |
As of now, the airplane has been destroyed after serving for 34.8 years, flying for over ten airlines, and connecting people all over the world.
With 438 Boeing 747s currently in active service, 19 of which are the Boeing 747-200, a configuration identical to that of Gulf Air, there is no better time than now to experience these magnificent queens of the skies, which have been replaced by far smaller, agile, more fuel-efficient twin-engine planes.
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